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l J; WBASBY.' MACHINE Pon BENDING METAL PLATES. No. 48,538. Patented July 4,' 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JOHN W. EAsBY, oF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT on COLUMBIA.

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL PLATES.

Specification foi-ming part-of Letters Patent No. 48,538, dated July 4, 1865.

'To all lwhom. it may concern: l jjBe it known that I, JoHNf-W. EASBY, of

Washington and District of Columbia, have 4inventedanew and Improved VDevice for Bending Metal Plates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and usey the same, reference i being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, in which-,- y

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section' of my invention, taken in t-he line a zo, Fig. 2;

Fig, 2, a transverse vertical section ofthe same,

taken inthelineyy, Fig. 1. .l v

-Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to anewand improved device for bending metal plates, and is more especially designed for bending armor-plates for ships. and other vessels, so that they may conform to any part .ofthe sides :of thevessel' The invention consists in the employment or use of a series ot' adjustable' bars,.in connec tion with patterns and clamps, constructed and arranged in such a manner that the bars may be very readilyadjnsted to forma curved or -winding bed corresponding to any portion ot' l ,the exterior surface of the hull of 'a vessel, so

that each -platc maywith the greatest facility be bent to conform to the portion of the vessel f to which it is to be attached.

A represents a cast-iron bed-plate, through which screw-rods B pass in two parallel lines, one near each side of the bed-plate,land are secured at a greater or less lheight above the bed-plateby nuts a u, one aboveand the other below saidplate, as shown in both figures.

.".Tllieupper ends of these 4screw-rods Bare secured by pivots b in the endsof bars 0,which :are side by side, parallel with eachother, 'but not in contact,.each one beingcapable "of lbeing moved or adjusted in 1a vertical plane by means-of thescrew-rodsl without interfering with the ones adjoining it. `The outer o r end bars, C, are each provided with'a clamp, D',

. composed of a bar, c,'placed directly uponthe outer bars, C, and connected thereto by screwrods d and nuts e, the latter beingprovided with arms orlevers f for the convenience of turning thema From this description it will beseen that the bars C may be adjusted so as to form a horizontal plane, or they maybe adjusted so as to.

form a curved or winding surface, varying in shape at all points, as may be'required.

, In order to adjust the bars G to form acurved or windingsurface-corresponding to that which an armor-plate lshould have to tit any particu- [the .upper edge of the section of the vessel `where the plate is tobe attached,and the other `made to conform to the lower edge of said sec tion. These patterns are shown in red outliney in Fig. 1, and when formed 1,they are laid on (the ends .of the bars C, their outer 'straight edges being in one and the same plane, and the ends of .the bars G arethen adjusted in contact'with the curved edges of the patterns. By this means the bars C, vz irevadjusted so as to form a winding or curved bed. corresponding I to. the section of the hull ofthcvessel betweenl the lines from which-.the patterns were cut. The plate to-be bent is then 'properly heated and' laid upon the bars C, the ends of the plate' l being under the clamps Dfand the latter are 1 then screwed downsovas ,to bend the plate'V I snugly down on tlIe-bai'sC;` Thus by this simple arrangement metal plates i may be bent to suit all parts of the hull of avessel, each plate corresponding ill-"form,` 'to' the section or part where it is designed to be attached, and the work maybedone'rapidlyand'in.aperfect manner.

t I wouldl remark that 'l donut con-[ine myself .to the screws forv adjusting the barst) and clamps- D, for othermeans Vmight. beemployed Vfortlie purpose. I claim 'as new and desirc'to secure by Let ters Patent-- said patterns, the clamps D D, and bed-plate A', all constructed, arranged, and operatingin the manner and 4for the purposes specified.

' Witnesses v RALPH REED,

The' combination of the patterns E adjust-- ablebars C C O, running transversely of the 

